PART 1
Chapter 1. Search for information by a journalist
1.1. Information relations in an open society: principles, rules, norms
1. An open society is based on the idea that the human right to be fully informed about everything that happens in the country and the world is universal and fundamental and any exception to this right must be explained and stipulated by legislative acts. The right to be informed requires the free flow of information and opinions. Restrictions on the dissemination of news and information are contrary to the interests of international understanding, violate the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Constitution of UNESCO and the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, and are incompatible with the UN Charter. Free access of people to the media and other official and unofficial sources of information must be guaranteed.
2. Socially significant information is information that satisfies the needs of citizens for knowledge and understanding of social processes. Publicly relevant information helps educate the people, stimulates progress, and helps solve the complex economic, scientific, and social problems we face. Socially significant information belongs to the people, who have the right to access it, except for the restrictions specified by law. The form of manifestation of the public need for information is public interest, to satisfy which special information institutions are created.
3. The public has the right of access to socially significant information. Open and unfettered access to public information is the foundation of fair governance and a free society. Government departments must guarantee open, timely and unhindered access to publicly relevant information. Citizens should be given the opportunity to access socially significant information, regardless of the form in which it is stored, without special training or experience.
4. Authorities are obliged to take appropriate measures to ensure the right to receive information. These measures should ensure that authorities, in the event of a refusal to provide information, indicate the reason in writing within a reasonably short time, and also provide the right to review the validity and legality of the refusal to independent bodies, including legal review of one kind or another. Governments should ensure a wide variety of sources of access, both private and public, to public information and should not allow high prices for information services to prevent citizens from accessing public information.
5. Authorities must guarantee citizens’ access to socially significant information, regardless of their place of residence and work. To solve this problem, national information networks, programs such as depository libraries and other methods should be used. Government agencies should periodically review such programs, as well as the technologies used, to ensure that access to public information remains affordable and convenient for the public.
6. Authorities must ensure the completeness, safety, dissemination, reproduction and redistribution of socially significant information at their disposal, regardless of the form of its existence. By maintaining public information, government agencies ensure that they are accountable to the public and that the public has access to information about their work. Any restriction of dissemination or any other action in relation to socially significant information must be strictly defined by law.
7. Government authorities must respect the confidentiality of persons using or requesting information and the right to privacy of persons identified in government records.
8. The existence of many independent media is in the interests of any society. In cases where, for some reason, a society cannot support the existence of a large number of independent media, existing information channels should reflect different points of view.
9. Journalists' access to various sources of news and opinion - official and unofficial - should not be subject to any restrictions. This access is inseparable from people's access to information. There should be no censorship of the press, no matter what forms of arbitrary control over information and public opinion it may take. People's right to access news and information must not be infringed. All laws and decisions relating to the right to obtain information must first take into account the public interest in obtaining that information.
10. Every restriction on freedom of expression or information must be prescribed by law. The law must be publicly available, definite, specific and clear so as to enable every individual to foresee whether an action is unlawful. The law must provide adequate safeguards against violations of its requirements, including prompt, full and effective legal review of the reasonableness of the restriction by an independent court or judicial authority.
11. No one may become the object of prosecution for disclosing information obtained in public service if the public importance of this information outweighs the harm from its disclosure.
12. Everyone has the right to receive information from government authorities, including information related to national security. Any restrictions on the receipt of such information may not be imposed unless the government demonstrates that such restriction is required by law and is actually necessary to protect legitimate national security interests.
13. The State may not deny access to all information relevant to national security, but must designate in law only those specific and narrow categories of information that must be kept private in legitimate national security interests.
14. No one may be punished under the pretext of national security for the disclosure of information unless the disclosure causes actual harm and is not likely to cause harm to legitimate national security interests; or the public importance of this information outweighs the harm from its disclosure. National security protection cannot be used as a basis to force a journalist to disclose a confidential source of information.
15. Any restriction on freedom of expression or information that authorities wish to justify on grounds of national security must be genuinely motivated by that purpose, and the authorities must demonstrate that the end result will be the protection of legitimate national security interests.
To demonstrate that a restriction on freedom of expression or information is truly necessary to protect legitimate national security interests, the government must demonstrate that:
– self-expression or information on the matter poses a serious threat to legitimate national security interests;
– the introduced restriction provides for the least restrictive measures to protect these interests;
– the restriction is consistent with democratic principles.
Self-expression can be punished as threatening national security only if the government can demonstrate that:
– self-expression is intended to call for violent action;
– can lead to such violent actions;
– there is a direct and immediate connection between self-expression and the possibility of such violent actions.
16. The peaceful exercise of the right to freedom of expression should not be considered a threat to national security or be subject to restrictions or penalties.
Self-expression that:
– advocates non-violent change in government policy or the government itself;
– constitutes criticism of a country, state or its symbols, government, government departments or figures, as well as a foreign country, state or its symbols, government, government departments or figures;
– objects to or supports an objection, on grounds of religion, conscience or belief, to conscription or military service as such; a specific conflict or threat of use of force to resolve international disputes;
– aims to convey information about alleged violations of international standards relating to human rights or international humanitarian law.
No one can be punished for criticizing a country, a state or its symbols, government, government departments or figures, or a foreign country, a state or its symbols, government, government departments or figures, unless such criticism or insult is intended to incite violent actions or may not entail such actions.
1.2. Basic concepts and definitions in the field of legal regulation of access to information
The problem of developing a unified terminology in the information sphere is by no means less important than finding compromise ways of legislative regulation of certain economic and political aspects. Considering that in the last year or two there has been a lightning-fast development of new and, basically, converged means of telecommunications and their implementation in life, the legal consolidation of each communication innovation occurs, as is known, according to other time standards, due to the obligation to comply with the established long-term legislative process. Each service provided by any new communication tool provides a greater opportunity than before to quickly obtain the necessary information, both verbal and documented. However, we should not forget that a huge percentage of the population, including officials of legislative and executive bodies, are not yet psychologically ready for the existence of new technologies.
The main question that I would like to answer is whether it is necessary to develop new terminology in information legislation, following the path of political, ideological and technological changes introduced by life, or not to make changes to already existing definitions and concepts, but to transfer them to new ones bills? The ideal direction in the development and improvement of information legislation would be to introduce into bills other definitions of new aspects of the information sphere and fill gaps in terminology.
Thus, when developing a bill aimed at regulating access to information, it is worth focusing on several definitions, around which quite a lot of controversy has arisen. These issues are as important as establishing a mechanism for accessing and obtaining information in the bill.
Public interest
Disputes among lawyers and journalists about what constitutes public interest and whether there is a definition of this concept in the law are still ongoing. In criminal, constitutional law, in some norms of electoral legislation and, of course, in information legislation, references to public interest are often made in the absence of the very concept of public interest. A free interpretation of the concept of public interest allows, in some cases, to manipulate the behavior of many people. The legislation stipulates that “it is prohibited to include documents accumulated in open funds and libraries and archives, information systems of government bodies, local governments, public associations, organizations that are of public interest or necessary for the implementation of rights, freedoms and duties of citizens." In accordance with the Law “On the Mass Media,” a journalist is required to obtain consent to disseminate information about a citizen’s personal life in the media from the citizen himself or his legal representatives, except in cases where this is necessary to protect public interests. The next commentary to the Constitution stipulates that information relating to the regulation of the election campaign is of public interest. A citizen, acting as a voter, referendum participant, or organizer of demonstrations, must have access to official documents regulating these relations. Many regulations also refer not to public interest, but to legitimate interest, the concept of which is not defined.
It should be noted that public interest and legitimate interest are synonymous concepts, since the possibility of disclosing information of public interest is enshrined in a number of legal norms.
Document
The definition of a document as “a material object with information recorded on it in the form of text, sound recording or image, intended for transmission in time and space for the purposes of storage and public use” exists in the Federal Law of December 29, 1994 No. 77 “On Legal Deposit of a Document” (Article 1).
In criminal law, the concept of a document is widespread as “a properly executed material carrier of any information intended to certify a legally significant fact or event (information reflected on paper, photo, film, audio or video tape, plastic, existing in the form of a computer record or in another material form perceived by a person).”
Official document
In the same Federal Law “On Legal Deposit of Documents,” an official document is defined as “a work of press published on behalf of legislative, executive and judicial authorities, of a legislative, regulatory, directive or informational nature.”
Official
A lot of controversy also arose around the definition of an official. However, if you turn to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, then you can get an answer to the question: who is an official. An official is understood as a person who performs organizational, administrative and administrative functions only in state bodies, local governments, state and municipal institutions and holds positions established by the constitutions or charters of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation (Article 285, Chapter 30). The Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of January 11, 1995 “On the register of public positions of federal civil servants” clearly defined the groups of all officials in the Russian Federation.
1.3. On access to information held by government departments
The Committee of Ministers, based on the provisions of Article 15.b of the Statute of the Council of Europe,
Taking into account, that the task of the Council of Europe is to achieve greater unity among member states,
Taking into account the importance of the public in a democratic society receiving sufficient information on issues of public importance,
Taking into account, that public access to information implies strengthening public trust in government,
Taking into account in this regard, that every effort must be made to ensure the fullest possible public access to information held by government departments,
The following principles apply to individuals and legal entities. In implementing these principles, the interests of a reasonable and efficient government must be taken into account. Should these interests require adjustment or exclusion of one or more principles, either in a particular case or in certain areas of government, maximum efforts should nevertheless be made to achieve the greatest possible degree of access to information.
I. Every person subject to the jurisdiction of a Member State has the right to obtain, upon request, information held by public authorities, with the exception of legislative bodies and judicial authorities.
II. Appropriate and effective measures should be taken to ensure access to information.
III. Access to information cannot be denied under the pretext that the person seeking the information does not have special interests in this area.
I V. Access to information is provided on the basis of equal rights.
V. The said principles are subject to limitation only in cases necessary in a democratic society to protect the legitimate interests of society (such as national security, public safety, public order, the economic welfare of the country, the prevention of crime and the prevention of disclosure of information received in confidence), and to protect privacy and other legitimate private interests, but at the same time taking into account the special interest of each person in information held by government agencies that concerns him personally.
VI. Each request for information must be processed within a reasonable time.
VII. A government agency refusing to provide information must explain the reason for the refusal in accordance with law or practice.
VIII. Any refusal to provide information can be appealed.
When adopting Recommendation No. R (81) 19 in accordance with Art. 10.2 of the rules of procedure for the sessions of the Deputy Ministers, the representatives of Italy and Luxembourg reserved the right to leave it to their governments to decide whether to adhere to this recommendation.
1.4. Extracts from regulations on access to information
Constitution of the Russian Federation
Article 29
4. Everyone has the right to freely seek, receive, transmit, produce and disseminate information by any legal means. The list of information constituting a state secret is determined by Federal Law.
5. Freedom of the media is guaranteed. Censorship is prohibited.
Law of the Russian Federation “On the Mass Media”
Article 1. Freedom of the media
In the Russian Federation, search, receipt, production and distribution of mass information,
are not subject to restrictions, except for those provided for by the legislation of the Russian Federation on the media.
Article 38. Right to receive information
Citizens have the right to promptly receive reliable information through the media about the activities of government bodies and organizations, public associations, and their officials.
State bodies and organizations, public associations, and their officials provide information about their activities to the media at the request of editors, as well as by holding press conferences, distributing reference and statistical materials, and in other forms.
The editors have the right to request information about the activities of government bodies and organizations, public associations, and their officials. Requests for information can be made either orally or in writing. The requested information must be provided by the heads of the specified bodies, organizations and associations, their deputies, press service employees or other authorized persons within their competence.
Article 40. Refusal and delay in providing information
Refusal to provide the requested information is possible only if it contains information constituting a state, commercial or other secret specially protected by law. A notice of refusal is given to a representative of the editorial office within three days from the date of receipt of a written request for information. The notice must indicate:
1) the reasons why the requested information cannot be separated from information constituting a secret specially protected by law;
2) an official who refuses to provide information;
3) date of the decision to refuse. Delay in providing requested information
is acceptable if the required information cannot be provided within seven days. Notification of the postponement is given to a representative of the editorial office within three days from the date of receipt of the written request for information. The notice must indicate:
1) the reasons why the requested information cannot be provided within seven days;
2) the date by which the requested information will be provided;
3) the official who established the deferment;
4) the date of the decision to postpone.
Article 47. Rights of a journalist
A journalist has the right:
1) search, request, receive and disseminate information;
2) visit government bodies and organizations, enterprises and institutions, bodies of public associations or their press services;
3) be accepted by officials in connection with a request for information;
4) gain access to documents and materials, with the exception of their fragments containing information constituting state, commercial or other secrets specially protected by law;
5) copy, publish, announce or otherwise reproduce documents and materials, subject to the requirements of part one of Article 42 of this Law;
6) make recordings, including using audio and video equipment, filming and photography, except for cases provided for by law;
7) visit specially protected places of natural disasters, accidents and catastrophes, riots and mass gatherings of citizens, as well as areas in which a state of emergency has been declared; attend rallies and demonstrations;
8) check the accuracy of the information provided to him;
The journalist also enjoys other rights granted to him by the legislation of the Russian Federation on the mass media.
Article 48. Accreditation
The editorial office has the right to submit an application to a state body, organization, institution, body of a public association for accreditation of its journalists with them.
State bodies, organizations, institutions, bodies of public associations accredit the declared journalists, subject to the editorial offices complying with the accreditation rules established by these bodies, organizations, institutions.
Bodies, organizations, and institutions that accredit journalists are required to notify them in advance of meetings, meetings and other events, provide them with transcripts, protocols and other documents, and create favorable conditions for making recordings.
An accredited journalist has the right to attend meetings, meetings and other events held by bodies, organizations and institutions that accredit him, except in cases where decisions have been made to hold a closed event.
A journalist may be deprived of accreditation if he or the editorial office violates the established accreditation rules or disseminates untrue information discrediting the honor and dignity of the organization that accredited the journalist, which is confirmed by a court decision that has entered into legal force.
Accreditation of own correspondents of media editorial offices is carried out in accordance with the requirements of this article.
Federal Law “On Information, Informatization and Information Protection”
Article 4. Fundamentals of the legal regime of information resources
1. Information resources are objects of relations between individuals, legal entities, and the state; they constitute the information resources of Russia and are protected by law along with other resources.
Article 6. Information resources as an element of property and an object of property rights
1. Information resources can be non-state and, as an element of property, are owned by citizens, government bodies, local governments, organizations and public associations. Relations regarding the ownership of information resources are regulated by the civil legislation of the Russian Federation.
2. Individuals and legal entities are the owners of those documents, arrays of documents that were created at the expense of their funds, acquired by them legally, received by way of gift or inheritance.
3. The Russian Federation and the constituent entities of the Russian Federation are the owners of information resources created, acquired, accumulated at the expense of the federal budget, budgets of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, as well as obtained through other methods established by law.
The state has the right to purchase documented information from individuals and legal entities if this information is classified as a state secret.
The owner of information resources containing information classified as state secrets has the right to dispose of this property only with the permission of the relevant state authorities.
4. Subjects that submit documented information to government bodies and organizations without fail do not lose their rights to these documents and to use the information contained in them. Documented information, submitted without fail to government bodies and organizations by legal entities, regardless of their organizational and legal form and forms of ownership, as well as by citizens on the basis of Article 8 of this Federal Law, forms information resources that are jointly owned by the state and entities representing this information.
5. Information resources that are the property of organizations are included in their property in accordance with the civil legislation of the Russian Federation.
Information resources that are the property of the state are under the jurisdiction of state authorities and organizations in accordance with their competence, and are subject to accounting and protection as part of state property.
6. Information resources may be goods, except for cases provided for by the legislation of the Russian Federation.
7. The owner of information resources enjoys all the rights provided for by the legislation of the Russian Federation, including the right to:
appoint a person to carry out economic management or operational management of information resources;
establish, within its competence, the regime and rules for processing, protecting information resources and access to them;
determine the conditions for disposing of documents when copying and distributing them.
1. State information resources of the Russian Federation are open and publicly accessible. The exception is documented information classified by law as restricted access.
legislative and other normative acts establishing the legal status of state authorities, local governments, organizations, public associations, as well as the rights, freedoms and obligations of citizens, the procedure for their implementation;
documents containing information about emergency situations, environmental, meteorological, demographic, sanitary-epidemiological and other information necessary to ensure the safe functioning of populated areas, production facilities, the safety of citizens and the population as a whole;
documents containing information on the activities of state authorities and local governments, on the use of budget funds and other state and local resources, on the state of the economy and the needs of the population, with the exception of those classified as state secrets;
documents accumulated in open collections of libraries and archives, information systems of state authorities, local governments, public associations, organizations that are of public interest or necessary for the implementation of the rights, freedoms and responsibilities of citizens.
Article 12. Implementation of the right to access information from information resources
1. Users - citizens, state authorities, local governments, organizations and public associations - have equal rights to access state information resources and are not required to justify to the owners of these resources the need to obtain the information they request. The exception is information with limited access.
Access of individuals and legal entities to state information resources is the basis for public control over the activities of state authorities, local governments, public, political and other organizations, as well as over the state of the economy, ecology and other spheres of public life.
2. Owners of information resources provide users (consumers) with information from information resources on the basis of legislation, charters of specified bodies and organizations, regulations on them, as well as contracts for information support services.
Information obtained legally from government information resources by citizens and organizations can be used by them to create derivative information for the purpose of commercial distribution with a mandatory link to the source of information.
3. The procedure for obtaining information by the user (indicating the place, time, responsible officials, necessary procedures) is determined by the owner or possessor of information resources in compliance with the requirements established by this Federal Law.
Lists of information and services for information support, information about the procedure and conditions for access to information resources are provided by owners of information resources and information systems to users free of charge.
4. Government bodies and organizations responsible for the formation and use of information resources provide conditions for the prompt and complete provision of documented information to the user in accordance with the responsibilities established by the charters (regulations) of these bodies and organizations.
The authors of the publication “History of World Journalism” call this trend “commercialization of journalism,” which refers to structural and substantive changes in the media sphere generated by the influence of information market factors. In journalism focused on commercial success, there is a widespread idea that the journalist and the press serve a specific market, while representatives of other sociocultural models of journalism declare their appeal to the citizen, public opinion, or the individual reader.
Commercialization in journalism also began to be talked about at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, and this was associated not only with an influx of investment, but also with an increase in the social status and role of the press. It was then that O. Wilde said: “We are run by journalists.” As soon as the press became a profitable tool for doing business, all its main features were extrapolated to it. In particular, with the aim of making profits, the mass press was created by Hearst, Pulitzer, Harmsworth and others, for which monetary benefits were more important than objectivity and the real interests of the reader.
The main mechanism for generating profit was advertising. If in the 1880s the income of newspaper publishers consisted half of funds received from sales of circulation and half from fees for publishing commercial advertisements, then by 1910 advertising income already accounted for 65 percent of total revenues. Advertising was more expensive the larger the publication's circulation. The focus on ratings has given rise to sensationalism, scandalousness, falsification of unverified information, custom-made materials, placement of advertising materials under the guise of editorial, inconsistency between the headline and the content, corruption and other vices.
In the 1970s, reliance on official and corporate information gave rise to the phenomenon of “Public Relations.” The creation of a new industry was intended to take advantage of the opportunities that journalism provided. Processed press releases, “packaged” information, and custom expert opinions allowed PR specialists to create news that would benefit their clients, who could now avoid risks, especially those associated with live communication. PR has become one of the important obstacles to obtaining objective information. The broad rights granted to citizens in the 20th century made the “risks of democracy” too great. Hidden mechanisms for processing information flow were required. PR was one of the key mechanisms of this kind. Press owners could only support the emergence of a new industry that made it possible to fill newspapers with information for free. At the beginning of the 21st century, PR materials make up, according to various estimates, from 40 to 70% of the news in American newspapers.
In the 1980s, the era of “professional autonomy” for journalists in Western countries, especially the United States, came to an end. The main reasons for this were the constant weakening of antitrust laws and the development of technology, which made it possible to significantly strengthen the commercial component of the media. At the end of the 20th century, investments in the television industry became comparable to investments in the most capital-intensive industries - oil, engineering, steel and others. The concept of a media industry appears, which is subject to business management and marketing schemes, traditions and production schemes. Habitual approaches are formed, a conceptual apparatus appears. As University of California professor Manuel Castells has noted, “The media business has become global, with capital, talent, technology and corporate ownership spanning a world beyond nation-states.” Media consumption in the United States reached an average of 11 hours a day by the end of the 20th century. The media system becomes not just a mechanism for the information dictate of the capitalist consensus, but also an integral part of the economy.
Technological revolutions have only exacerbated the contradictions associated with the entry of business into journalism. The introduction of technologies took place on the principles of saving on quality, which led to layoffs, the closure of correspondent offices, the use of a large number of PR materials, trivial inexpensive stories, and a focus on directly serving the needs of owners and advertisers. In fact, the separation of editorial and commercial components has disappeared. Journalism is finally turning into a component of the service sector with corresponding “professional” standards.
There is an opinion that business in journalism is a lever for creating a competitive environment, pluralism of opinions and control over power. The scheme seems to be simple - work quickly and efficiently, make a profit and delight viewers and readers. However, the role of business in creating pluralism of opinions and its independence from the state should not be exaggerated. In Western countries, business is inextricably linked with the state (remember the $6 million shares in Time Warner owned by C. Powell, the chairmanship of the FCC of his son Michael, or the premiership of the Italian television magnate Berlusconi), thereby creating an oligarchic chain of mutual responsibility, where the state and business are in the same harness. Many modern American media corporations are closely associated with the US military-industrial complex, and they should not be called upon too loudly to defend its interests. To control over power structures and the creation of a competitive environment, business prefers to avoid pressing problems, monopolize and merge with the authorities.
But basically, big business and government form one team. A business that is not associated with government agencies is a small, uninfluential capital that prefers not to quarrel with the authorities in order to avoid problems. This leads to the fact that mass media owned by capital are increasingly less likely to publish sharp materials, preferring watered-down stories and light-weight information.
In an environment where editors and journalists are gripped by ratings craze, market demands take on the force of law. The desire to constantly achieve high ratings results in a kind of shadow censorship - an unspoken but effective restrictive system that forces journalists to refuse to cover “inconvenient” problems for the sole reason that such publications are not able to attract a wide audience. The expectations of the majority of the audience, formed by commercial media, do not extend beyond lightweight publications aimed at the “average” information consumer with superficial tastes. American researcher L. Bennett found that in the 1990s. the amount of crime news in the US media increased 7 times, although during this period crime in the country decreased significantly. Journalism and documentaries are disappearing from American television; on the other hand, it regularly replenishes the pipeline of entertainment programs and turns to such win-win topics as sports or crime. The inertia of the audience is cultivated, the transition to “healthy” instincts from real life problems is encouraged. Statistics reflecting the specialization of newspaper journalists in the United States in the 1990s indicate that 19% of the total number of newspaper journalists specialized in covering sports topics, 13% - political issues, 8% - criminal incidents, 7% - business life and only 4% - on covering social issues, 4% - on educational problems. Such an adjustment significantly undermines the developmental and educational potential of mass communications, keeping the audience in the well-trodden rut of standard ideas and myths, suppressing its creative potential, spiritual independence - i.e. qualities necessary for conscientious and active citizens of a democratic society.
The organization of any media is aimed at achieving high efficiency - both financially, economically and ideologically. If we consider only the economic side of the issue, it should be noted that in order to achieve high profitability, the management of newspapers and magazines, radio and television stations is based on the same principles as the management of industrial enterprises. Among the directions for further development are segmentation of the news market and division of spheres of influence, limiting competition, achieving financial balance within monopolistic media associations, division of labor and rationalization of production.
Currently, the main income of any printed publication consists of:
· funds received from circulation distribution;
· government funding and benefits;
· participation in commercial activities in its various forms;
· donations, etc.
The basis of cash receipts comes from advertising revenues. For example, in Spain, media income from advertising accounts for about 80% of all income, in the USA - 75%, in France - about 60%. No American newspaper would settle for less than a ratio of 40% editorial to 60% advertising, although a 50/50 ratio is preferable.
In July-August last year, another scandal erupted involving some companies inflating the circulation of their newspapers. Four newspapers from three companies were involved: Newsday and OH Tribune Company, Dallas Morning News-Below Corporation, and Chicago Sun-Times-Hollinger International. They inflated circulation by sending information to the Circulation Bureau in order to set higher advertising rates. The newspapers' credibility was damaged and advertisers were irritated by the situation and demanded compensation. Newspaper companies were forced to return their money. These are quite substantial amounts; in particular, the White Corporation returned $23 million to advertisers. for the Dallas Morning News, the Tribune Company, an estimated 80-95 million for Newsday and Oy. The circulation overestimation scandal has forced a number of newspaper companies to take steps to tighten their audits and the Circulation Bureau to tighten control over the accuracy of the information provided to it. The formula “Trust but verify” became very relevant in the newspaper press last year. The circulation overestimation scandal primarily affected advertisers of four newspapers, but until the end of the year no further cases of fraud were identified, and it did not have any negative impact on the newspapers’ overall advertising revenues.
Advertising expenditure in the country has increased and this is a reflection of the recovery in the country's economy. Economic growth has affected, in particular, an increase in the volume of classified advertising in newspapers, especially advertisements for employment and the purchase and sale of real estate. After two difficult years, when there was a drop in advertising revenues, in 2001 - by 9% to 44.3 billion dollars, and in 2002 - by 0.5% to 44.1 billion, in 2003 revenues began to grow slowly and amounted to 44.4 billion (an increase of 1.9%). In 2004, the growth in advertising revenues was more significant and, according to estimates, should have been 4.1% - up to 46 billion 793 million dollars.
To understand such an integral component of commercial journalism as advertising, simple formulas, say, “advertising is a guarantee of media independence,” cannot be considered suitable. As S. Kara-Murza writes (S. Kara-Murza. Manipulation of consciousness. M., 2000), “the main thing is the market of images, even such a product as a car today is, first of all, not a means of transportation, but an image that represents its owner. The image market dictates its own laws, and their seller (the television company) strives to attract the viewer’s attention to his channel. If he succeeds, he charges the remaining sellers who advertise their looks through his channel.” In the West, advertising accounts for 3/4 of newspaper income and almost 100% of television income (in the US, advertising takes up about 1/4 of airtime). Even European public channels are heavily financed by advertising (for example, the France 2/France 3 system has a high advertising ceiling of $500 million, which they do not reach, and the revenue side of the budget is almost half filled by advertising revenues).
In Western publications, advertising activities are strictly separated from journalism itself. Most countries prohibit so-called creeping advertising disguised as editorial messages or news. In many countries - by law, in some - by customs and judicial precedents. To ensure that editorial staff do not have the desire to write so-called custom materials, there are special administrative rules that must be observed by all editorial staff.
Advertising traditionally supports entertainment television programs and programs during prime time, the most expensive evening airtime. During the 1990s The volume of evening advertising in the United States reached an average of 15 minutes 44 seconds per broadcast hour. The first place among American broadcasting companies is occupied by ABC, whose advertising time in prime time is 16 minutes 27 seconds per hour of broadcasting. The comedy series “Sports Evening” aired on this channel became the program with the most advertising content (19 minutes 13 seconds per hour).
Another trend in the development of world journalism is the merging of the information business with financial and industrial capital. This phenomenon can be traced in almost all countries of the world, including Russia. The experience of the most powerful country in information terms - the USA - is analyzed and summarized in the monograph by E.Ch. Andrunas “The Information Elite: Corporations and the News Market” (Moscow, 1991). The author comes to serious conclusions. There are practically no boundaries for the most powerful information monopolies. This is not only R. Murdoch’s company, but also Time Warner, Gannett, and leading television networks. “In this regard,” notes Andrunas, “the question of pluralism arises again, but now on an international scale. Of course, it in itself is not new, since the dominance of American programs on television screens around the world is a problem that has been discussed for more than a decade. But the creation of global information systems gives the problem a new urgency... But, agreeing with the criticism of transnational monopolies, one cannot help but notice the enormous progressive role that they can and should play in the formation of a single human community, overcoming barriers between countries, breaking stereotypes and prejudices. It is transnational media structures, along with economic integration, that must become the basis of an interconnected and interdependent world.”
Economists, analyzing the most important driving forces behind the transformation of the media economy, identify at least four macroeconomic factors in this regard. These include:
regional integration of national economies (eg European Union);
the emergence of a world free of ideologies, which forces states to act more pragmatically;
technology development;
development of a global economy, which is stimulated by global competition.
Weapons against poverty
Many journalists refer to the fact that economics is of interest only to a narrow circle of people. But they say this, most often, to hide their inability and unwillingness to write on economic topics. Yes, writing about the economy, educating and enlightening the population is much more difficult than speculating on political scandals. You cannot earn instant and loud journalistic fame from the economy in Kyrgyzstan yet. This is difficult: you need to understand what is happening yourself, understand it in such a way as to be able to explain it to your readers and viewers. You need to read textbooks and reference books, specialized magazines, and conduct many hours of conversations with experts in order to “catch” in their professional slang the grain that is necessary and useful for the reader and viewer.
The journalist, of course, fulfills a mission and, of course, represents a certain resource for influencing society, called the fourth estate. But what is the nature of this resource? What is the message of his efforts? What is the overall result and final goal - destructive or creative? If you remain only in the political field and continue to ignore the economy, the message will be destructive. The press will not help the country get rich and develop, but will distract the population into political squabbles, excite the instincts of the crowd and set up society as a whole for self-flagellation and self-criticism. If the message is creative, then you need to sit down at your desk with the desire to learn yourself and teach your audience to understand, love the economy and take advantage of all the opportunities it provides.
Economic journalism must cease to be some kind of elitist collection of a handful of experts who write very complex and long articles for an equally small group of advanced readers. What is written on economic topics in popular publications should look completely different. Just reprinting parts of press releases from departments and corporations is not enough to fulfill the educational and analytical functions of the press. We need real analysis and forecast, but presented in a popular, understandable form.
There is no scientific definition of economic journalism as such. However, there are suggestions made during the work on this tutorial. Summarizing these proposals, we can formulate the first definition of economic journalism in Kyrgyzstan.
So, economic journalism is the search, analysis and presentation of information about the economy, which allows any person to make the right decision to protect their material interests. In other words, economic journalism is a weapon against poverty.
Here you will find works on economic journalism, either developed by me personally, or with my direct participation, or on my initiative:
Coverage of economic topics in the media. A manual for university students. Approved by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Kyrgyz Republic. B.: Printhouse, 2008.
This textbook is the very first step, the first attempt in the history of the Kyrgyz Republic to create a tool for teaching future journalists about economics. This is a collective work of well-known economists and journalism teachers in the republic, who set out to present important economic knowledge in simple, accessible language from the perspective of the interests of the media.
The manual consists of twelve topics relevant to the economic development of Kyrgyzstan. Moreover, each topic contains the theoretical foundations of the issue, a historical excursion, an analysis of modern problems and, in part, a description of prospects. In this form, the manual allows a student of the Faculty of Journalism and a young journalist to quickly navigate the essence and problems of the topic and avoid semantic and factual errors when preparing the material.
The textbook “Coverage of economic topics in the media (economic journalism)” is designed for senior students of journalism faculties who already possess a minimum set of professional skills and knowledge. The manual itself allows students to determine the presence or absence of interest in covering issues of economic development and contributes to their further specialization and choice of future work. This is especially relevant due to the increasing demand in Kyrgyzstan for publications with an economic thematic focus.
The main goal of the manual is to help future journalists understand that economics is the daily life of every Kyrgyzstani, and not something abstract, complex, and therefore uninteresting to the general reader. The manual will help the future journalist fall in love with economics as material expression of human relationships and help your reader (viewer) find their place and improve the quality of their life.
Corporate governance: focus of media interests. A manual for future and current journalists. B.: Ega-Basma, 2009.
The manual arose as a natural continuation of the course of lectures that were given by major Kyrgyz experts and practitioners during the implementation of the Kyrgyz Stock Exchange Press Club project “Development of Corporate Governance through Education and Dialogue”, funded by the Center for the Support of Private Entrepreneurship (CIPE).
The lecturers touched on various topics in the development of corporate governance, ranging from its implementation in forms of government (corporate governance as a school of democracy) to the application of the principles of corporate governance in banks.
Each topic of the manual is equipped with the minimum glossary necessary for a journalist; some contain examples of articles and comments on them.
The manual does not claim to be an exhaustive coverage of all aspects of corporate governance, but it covers the most important of them.
Careful study of the manual will allow current and future journalists to understand and accept the principles of corporate governance, to see successful and unsuccessful examples of their application in everyday life, and also to guide their client - the reader, the viewer on the path to using their rights and opportunities in the world of the corporation as one of the greatest ideas civilization.
Regional economic journalism. A manual for future and current journalists (in progress).
The manual is intended for journalists working on economic topics in regional media. The manual covers the most important aspects of local economic development: management of the local budget and municipal property; strategic planning for local economic development; the basics of the legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic on access to information and the corresponding tools for the work of a journalist in this direction; examples of articles and detailed analysis; common mistakes and much more, including a glossary.
The manual consists of two parts: the textbook itself and the workshop. Accordingly, you will have to download two files.
Corporate wars and takeovers. About the harm and benefits of scandal (financial pyramids). Program, presentations and tasks of the training seminar for journalists.
The seminar program includes the following topics: Mental gap, or New mission of Kyrgyz journalists. Features of the stock market in Kyrgyzstan. How far is it from KU to UK? Corporate wars and takeovers. Redistribution of property and raider takeovers. About the harm and benefits of scandal. The future of the market: what should the press prepare for? Sources of information. Work in groups “Catching fleas in the text” (analysis of an economic article). Typical mistakes of journalists
Preparation of a special report on economic topics. Presentations and training seminar assignment for journalists
The seminar program includes the following topics: Special report on economic topics. Analytical function of the media. Practical lesson (work in groups).
In the pre-reform period, not only the ideological purity of the media, but also the financial activities of editorial offices and circulation policy were strictly controlled by party committees. The administration of the CPSU Central Committee set uniform prices for paper, printing services, distribution and delivery of newspapers, and took almost all the profits for itself.
Today the situation has changed dramatically. The media are given complete freedom - political and economic. The profit now remains in the editorial office. However, political freedom for many media outlets turned into economic unfreedom. Due to the sharply increased costs of publishing journalistic products, subscription and retail prices for newspapers have increased exponentially, which has led to a drop in their circulation. State subsidies do not cover all the costs of journalistic production, and the media are forced to expand the volume of publication of advertising messages, while constantly increasing prices for renting advertising space. This, in turn, also leads to the loss of some subscribers. Radio and television workers experience similar difficulties. The fate of the media began to depend on government subsidies, the generosity of sponsors, and the financial support of commercial structures seeking to become founders or owners of a newspaper or radio-TV channel. The leading role began to be played by the advertiser, and not by the subscriber’s money.
The process of commercialization of the press has begun, entailing negative consequences, when for the sake of income one can sacrifice objectivity in covering situations and phenomena, and the talent of a publicist.
In January 1992, the Russian government set a course for “shock therapy” in the economy: price liberalization, privatization, and a rapid transition to the market. Inflation has hit hard not only the interests of Russian citizens, but also the economy of a free press. Publishing costs have grown fantastically and continue to grow. Printers and signalmen, working at state-owned or joint-stock enterprises, dictate high prices based on their own interests, thwarting attempts by newspaper editors to become co-owners of these enterprises under privatization conditions. The cost of newspapers went up sharply, which forced the editors to adequately raise prices, which became very noticeable for readers. This, in turn, led to a drop in publication circulation.
A reduction in circulation leads to a loss of part of the income, and the editorial office, in order to survive, relies on subsidies from federal and local authorities and financial assistance from commercial structures.
Regional and district press is subsidized from the local budget. In 1995, two important federal laws were adopted - “On economic support for district (city) newspapers” and “On state support for the media and book publishing of the Russian Federation.” According to the first law, at least half of the costs of paying for printing services, paper and communication services to district (city) newspapers is financed from the federal budget. And according to the second - for three years - from January 1, 1996 to January 1, 1999, the media (except for printed publications of an advertising and erotic nature) are exempt from value added and profit taxes, as well as from customs duties (the effect of the law, with the exception of customs benefits, extended until 2002).
However, not all publications receive government subsidies, and, unable to achieve economic independence, editorial offices ask for subsidies from commercial structures.
In Russia, by 1998, a situation had developed where some central publications and television companies became economically dependent on their largest shareholders, the “oligarchs.” Thus, in the sphere of influence of Oneximbank there are the newspapers “Komsomolskaya Pravda”, “Izvestia”, “Russian Telegraph”, and the magazine “Expert”; Bank Menatep is the main shareholder of Literaturnaya Gazeta; The head of the Most-Bank group of banks, V. Gusinsky, through the Media-Most company he created, oversees the economic activities of NTV (independent television), the Segodnya newspaper, the Itogi magazine, and the Ekho Moskvy radio station. Of course, economic impact is sometimes combined with political impact, when the themes and focus of publications and television and radio broadcasts are adjusted to take into account the interests of “oligarchic” groups.
In addition to the first group of newspapers, which receive subsidies from the state, and the second, financed by private capital, there is a third - an independent press, self-financed and therefore free from the pressure of political forces or entrepreneurs playing politics. In this group, in particular, there are “Kommersant”, “Moskovsky Komsomolets”, “Moskovskie Novosti”, St. Petersburg publications “St. Petersburg Vedomosti”, “Business Petersburg”, “Petersburg Real Estate”, “Advertising-Chance” and some others.
The market, however, is like a playing field: one or another newspaper “playing” on it may not remain in the third group and move, if not to the first, then to the second. Or maybe the opposite is true. It all depends on the determination, energy and talent of the “players”. Although the newspaper has become a commercial enterprise, the editors are not concerned with increasing profits (for many of them this is still a mythical concept), but with how to avoid the threat of bankruptcy. And life shows: on the one hand, it is important to interest every editorial employee in receiving a common income, on the other hand, it would be nice for two or three editorial offices to unite in order to more easily withstand the market elements.
In today's Russia there are still few newspapers whose founders are private individuals or individuals. One of these publications is Obshchaya Gazeta, created in August 1991 by Yegor Yakovlev, who remained the sole owner of the publication. The founders of most newspapers were editorial teams that received different statuses: LLP (limited liability partnership), LLC (limited liability company), JSC (joint stock company), AOZT (closed joint stock company), Publishing house, Concern, Holding. Often, editorial teams invite regional administrations or commercial firms to be co-founders. In such cases, the degree of editorial freedom especially depends on the type of connection between the editorial board and the founder. It can be tough (Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Pravda, St. Petersburg regional Vesti), soft, when the founder rarely interferes in editorial policy (St. Petersburg Vedomosti), and independent, when the editorial board, financed by the founder, is free.
The joint-stock company created by Izvestia is called a concern because, in addition to this newspaper, Financial Izvestia is also under unified management - an economically independent newspaper, but subject to the “parent” policy. Other editorial offices, having created “subsidiary” publications, prefer to be called the “Publishing House”: “Publishing House “Kommersant”” (newspaper “Kommersant” and the magazine of the same name), “Publishing House Natalie” (newspaper and magazine “Natalie”, newspaper “ Anomaly"). But the Chance Publishing House (Advertising Chance, Real Estate of St. Petersburg, Radio Chance, which became the founder of the Capital of St. Petersburg newspaper) calls itself a holding company, because it has taken a newspaper for children under its wing (roof). Five Corners”, holding (from the sports term “holding” - capture in boxing) allows you to reduce the risk of bankruptcy due to the availability of sufficient funds for maneuver and the low probability that all editorial offices included in the holding company will suffer large losses at the same time. When the editors of the St. Petersburg newspaper Chas Rush sold a controlling stake to Moskovsky Komsomolets, thereby becoming part of the holding company, the financial position of Chas Rush strengthened, and the danger of closing the newspaper passed.
The Soviet supercompany Gosteleradio was created through government investment and was both a producer and a broadcaster. But since 1988, difficulties began due to a lack of funding for state television. And then, for the first time, advertising appeared on Soviet television. Its volume was constantly expanding. It was decided that advertising should become decentralized. The director of a particular studio, in the event of a lack of funds for the production of a television program, received the right to advertising and income from broadcasting. Moreover, the following order has been established: the studio buys advertising time from the company at one price, and sells it to advertisers at another, higher price. The difference between them formed the income. This decision marked the beginning of the emergence of independent television producers in Russia.
Difficulties with budget financing caused the need to reform Ostankino, and in September 1995, by Decree of the President of the Russian Federation, it was transformed into Public Russian Television (ORT). In addition to the state, the financial burden was assumed by the co-founders of ORT - the largest companies: LogoVAZ, Gazprom, banks Stolichny, Menatep, Imperial; however, the controlling stake is in state hands (the State Property Committee, the Russian Federal Service for Television and Radio Broadcasting, the Technical Television Center and ITAR-TASS).
And yet, in the development of independent television broadcasting systems, Russia lags significantly behind the leading countries of the world. Establishment is hampered, firstly, by monopoly in the structures that provide services for distributing television and radio signals from company studios to public receivers (the cost of a television signal has already been discussed above, and no one controls the Ministry of Communications, which sets extremely high prices). Secondly, the Ministry of Communications coordinates the economic activities of state communications enterprises that transmit signals, and at the same time provides licenses to engage in television and radio broadcasting activities. This combination of such different functions in one government body makes it possible to limit the independence of independent television companies in the development of their own signal distribution systems. Thirdly, the constant federal budget deficit does not allow us to fully finance the development of even state television, much less invest in independent TV systems.
Finally, there is no stability in the regulation of television activities by the state. The functions of such regulation have been temporarily transferred to the Russian Federal Television and Radio Broadcasting Service. But it does not act on the basis of law, but on the basis of regulations subject to political conjuncture. Fears (due to instability) of large commercial structures do not allow them to be generous in investing in non-state television.
Meanwhile, the formation and development of independent television and radio broadcasting systems will make it possible to most fully realize the constitutional rights of citizens to receive information, which makes the problem of particular relevance.
It is important for any editorial office, and especially a newspaper one, to know the market, namely the totality of existing and potential newspaper buyers. For which reader is the publication being published, how to gain popularity and ensure that the entire circulation is sold out completely?
The editorial office of a newspaper or a television and radio committee can be considered as a commercial enterprise - an independent business entity with the rights of a legal entity, operating in conditions of self-financing and seeking to make a profit by selling a product, although this product is unusual - intellectual, ideological. Therefore, like any commercial enterprise, the media editorial office is embedded in a market economic system. Then we can come to the following definition: the economics of journalism is a set of social relations in the field of production, distribution, exchange and consumption of the results of journalistic activity based on the market economic mechanism. The latter presupposes, first of all, competition in the information market. The editorial team's goal is for this market - the totality of existing and potential buyers of information - to positively accept the product of its creative production, which can lead to a more intense exchange of goods and money and an increase in the active market share by recruiting potential readers, television viewers, and radio listeners. It is important for an enterprise to produce only those products that a potential consumer will certainly buy. That is, one should master marketing as the art of moving goods from producer to consumer, a company's strategy of action that turns consumer needs into company income. Media marketing is the art of moving journalistic information to a mass audience in order to satisfy their needs and requirements and to obtain the maximum possible income for the media.
Newspaper Marketing sets the same goals: the editors strive to obtain maximum profit, primarily through the most complete satisfaction of reader needs. On the one hand, it achieves income growth as a result of the growing popularity of the newspaper (and this is possible if reader needs are met); on the other hand, it is trying to reduce publishing and editorial costs. In other words, the newspaper has turned into an enterprise, and the entire press is not only closely connected with the economy, covering its problems, but has also become part of it. Using the most important aspects of the market system in the press will help ensure stable, break-even work of editorial teams and avoid dangerous collisions during market competition in the information field.
The editors have at their disposal the so-called marketing mix - a set of controllable variable factors, the combination of which should be used to evoke a positive response from readers. The first element of the complex is the product-newspaper, its reputation, content, design. The second element is the price of a copy of the publication (for subscribers and retail sales it may be different). It lies between the upper limit (above which it becomes expensive for the reader to buy a newspaper) and the lower limit (when it is unprofitable for the editor to publish a publication). The optimal denomination is established taking into account the possible perception by readers, competitors, based on the perceived value of the newspaper publication. Some editors use this psychological technique: they sell a newspaper not for 1 ruble, but for 95 kopecks, and it sells out faster. The third element is newspaper distribution channels: subscription, retail. The high cost of services provided by monopolists - the Ministry of Communications and Rospechat - forces editorial offices to look for alternative, but cheaper ways. They are found both in the center and on the periphery. In St. Petersburg, for example, the commercial company Petersburg Express is engaged in the distribution (subscription and delivery) of seven leading newspapers in the city. Many editorial offices resort to the help of street distributors: they sell newspapers received at a wholesale price at metro stations on a negotiated basis, running their own small business. Finally, the last, fourth component of the marketing mix is sales promotion methods. Various editorial campaigns are aimed at solving this problem: competitions, lotteries, reader conferences, insurance for every tenth subscriber, etc.
Based on the marketing complex, the editors can implement its principles.
Firstly, before offering a publication to the market, you need to explore the reader’s market (establish its potential capacity, the nature and size of demand for the newspaper) and weigh your own production and sales capabilities (what are the editorial resources - financial, material, technical, creative, what is the initial , starting capital).
Secondly, having examined the market, the editors must find a niche in it in which it will be possible to sell the newspaper with less difficulty. Market segmentation- this is breaking it down into clear groups of readers, for which separate publications may be required (a market segment is a set of consumer-readers who respond equally to the same set of marketing incentives).
Thirdly, it is very important to “stake out” a newspaper product in the found segment, market niche, strengthen the position of the publication, especially if competing publications also sell something similar in the same niche.
Fourthly, the editors should respond flexibly to the requirements of changing reader demand.
Fifthly, we must not forget about innovation, constant updating and improvement of the content and design of the newspaper, technology and organization of its production, because otherwise you may fail to position the publication in the market.
Sixthly, you should plan a risk strategy to mitigate the severity of market competition.
A) Market research
The editors publish a newspaper intended for certain segments or groups of society, i.e. plans estimated audience. But more or less people read it, and this real audience quantitatively does not coincide with the calculated one - it all depends on the level of popularity of the publication. The high authority of the latter can attract so many readers that the real audience turns out to be larger than the calculated one, i.e. the source of growth becomes potential audience. Researching the readership market allows us to identify the volume of a potential, estimated or actual audience, which is very important when determining and adjusting the newspaper model.
At the first stage of research, in order to determine the size and composition of the potential audience, if we are talking about creating a general political newspaper, a territorial analysis of the population of the region where it is planned to be published is necessary: the possible circulation can be planned by knowing information about the total number of residents, their distribution among cities, towns and villages, about the intensity of information flows. Demographic analysis is also important: age, nationality, gender, education, and the proportion of migrants are in the field of view. And when planning special publications, it is necessary to know the social strata to which the newspaper will be intended. To publish a newspaper intended for women, of course, you need to know how many women live in the region; if you are planning a newspaper for pensioners, then information is needed about elderly people who are able to buy and read it.
What part of the population is able to subscribe to or buy a newspaper? To answer this question, we need an analysis of the social characteristics of the population, their professional structure: what is the share of housewives, unemployed, what is the income, the share of wealthy people and those living below the poverty line, in what areas of production do people work, how many of them are in commercial structures and state enterprises. It is also necessary to find out data about the economic and cultural life of the region: how many industrial enterprises are there, what products are produced, how many banks, commercial structures, what is the trading network, is the share of the agricultural sector in the economy large? This is especially true if a business newspaper is created that has a specific audience, which is dominated by businessmen and entrepreneurs.
And, of course, we need a psychographic analysis of the characteristics of the population (lifestyle, morals, customs, traditions, family relationships), everything that influences the formation of information needs.
A few months after the release of a new newspaper, when its main characteristics have become established, you should begin the second stage of marketing research - studying the real audience of the publication. And here questions arise that need to be answered: what part of the potential audience consists of real readers, where in the region they read the newspaper and where not; in which cities and villages it is prescribed, and where it is only bought at kiosks or from private distributors, and where it does not reach at all; how many readers subscribe to it, buy it or borrow the newspaper from friends, what is the amount of unrealized circulation in different cities and regions, what explains this? The answers will provide information not only about the advantages and disadvantages of the newspaper promotion and distribution system, but also about how different parts of the audience, for example, city dwellers or rural residents, accept it. Demographic and social analyzes will show which social groups, ages, genders, nationalities are interested in the newspaper, who is satisfied with one, and who refuses it.
Finally, it is necessary to begin the third stage of research: is it possible to increase the number of readers, to expand the actual audience at the expense of the potential one. The answer to this can be given by readers' responses to questionnaires published by the newspaper: how interesting and psychologically correct are the topics, language and style of publications; do they help change your life for the better; what thematic areas need to be strengthened; what can be changed in the appearance of the newspaper; what are the suggestions and wishes for journalists, etc. If the study shows that in the new economic conditions some readers will not be able to purchase the newspaper, then the circulation and price of the copy should be changed.
In order to increase the real audience, adjustments should be made to the publication model. And here, in addition to analyzing your own newspaper, it is necessary to study the features of competing publications, the services of which are used by residents of the region: how many copies they distribute by subscription and how many through retail, how they attract the attention of readers, what their shortcomings and problems are.
An additional source of information could be letters from readers. But the interest of the latter in correspondence with the editors has noticeably weakened: firstly, because, according to Art. 42 of the Law of the Russian Federation “On the Mass Media”, the editorial office is not obliged to respond to letters from citizens and forward these letters to organizations and officials for taking action, secondly, because sending a letter is written mainly by elderly people, pensioners, It's expensive nowadays.
As for the analysis of the production and sales activities of the publication, research on the resource market is necessary here: what are the sources of the editorial office’s financial resources, where to find journalistic personnel (at the Faculty of Journalism or in other newspapers), how to invite technical specialists to work - typists, programmers, proofreaders , advertising agents, etc.; with which publishing house to conclude an agreement to publish a newspaper; what equipment to equip the editorial office with; where to get paper, what grade and at what price; which news agency to buy information and photographs from; who to entrust the distribution of the publication, etc.
b) Segmentation
For whom is the newspaper (product) made? Who should the publication be aimed at? The answer to these questions will be the segment or market niche found by the editors, where it is much easier to sell the newspaper. This takes into account such aspects as geographical (regional), psychographic (lifestyle, personality type, buyer status); behavioral (reason for purchase, attitude towards the product, readiness to perceive it, awareness, interest); demographic (gender, family size and tenure, income, occupation, education, religion, nationality, etc.).
Previously, the reading public, although it had different thematic interests (professional, age-related, hobbies, etc.), was united around more or less unified newspapers. And if before the readers of Pravda or Izvestia were not much different from each other, now these are largely different audiences, and now it is difficult to imagine a reader of Izvestia who would switch to reading Pravda, and vice versa. But along with a significant change in views and a demarcation of ideological positions, the range of orientations and points of view on the problems of the current political and economic life of Russia has expanded. This creates a need to expand the information market.
And in the near future, a mutual search will take place: the reader, by trial and error, will search for “his” newspaper, which best meets his needs, while newspapers will strive to have a stable, if not multimillion-dollar, but well-developed and studied audience. The political “face” of a newspaper in modern conditions is largely determined by its attitude towards market structures and their representatives: entrepreneurs, bankers, stockbrokers, owners, farmers, cooperators, etc. This readership segment brought the business press to life and allowed publications such as Kommersant and Delovoy Mir to firmly establish themselves.
Part of the population, nostalgic for the recent past and communist values, forms its own segment, which is targeted by Pravda, Soviet Russia or Molniya, the organ of the Russian Communist Workers' Party. But, say, Nezavisimaya Gazeta has a different market niche - the publication is designed for the intellectual elite and high-ranking managers.
Deepening democratization in the country and the development of market structures lead to the emergence of new segments that require information support. Among them, in particular, is the market for rural readers, which journalists-publishers have not yet always noticed: when creating a newspaper in a city or regional center, they limit its distribution circle to the city limits.
Practice gives us examples of successful market segmentation: the prosperity of the newspapers “Top Secret”, “Anomaly”, “Speed-Info”, which withstand inflationary cataclysms, since interest in these publications from certain reader groups does not disappear. Time proves the persistence of reader interests: some like the business press, others like the entertainment press, and still others look for sports news. Taking into account such features, some editors, in order to attract part of the potential audience, began to release applications addressed to specific reader segments.
V) Positioning associated with segmentation is the determination of the characteristic features of a product that distinguish it from similar competing products by strengthening the position of the product in a specific segment. In 1993, Financial News unexpectedly invaded the market niche dominated by the newspapers Kommersant-Daily and Delovoy Mir. Their founders were the editors of Izvestia and the world's leading business newspaper, the Financial Times. “Financial News” withstood the competition and soon turned into a respectable publication with a circulation of 270 thousand copies. The editorial team, whose average age is 30 years, has managed to win the trust of readers thanks to the reliability of the published information and the competence of the comments. Almost every issue of Financial News reviews devoted to leading sectors of the economy provides an analysis of statistical information. A special place is occupied by operational material on the state of affairs in the world raw materials, commodity, stock and currency markets, provided by the editors of the Financial Times, information on the activities of the world's leading firms and companies obtained from primary sources.
At the same time, in relatively large readership segments, rival newspapers coexist peacefully if they have small circulations. Thus, in St. Petersburg in 1996, 7 medical publications were published: “Be healthy!”, “Health without mystery”, “Medicine of St. Petersburg”, “Panacea”, “Man and health”, “In city pharmacies”, “ Health resorts of St. Petersburg-2".
G) Innovation
The first issue of the Kommersant newspaper was published on January 8, 1990. The editorial office was then located in a tiny room. Three years later, the Kommersant publishing house was created. All four floors of the editorial office are filled with computers and modern technologies. Managers work behind glass doors: department heads, issue editors; reporters, rewriters, and layout designers work in huge enclosures (correspondent rooms). And in six buildings of the complex there are 10 services that support the newspaper technically and informationally.
Many editorial offices have also switched to computer layout and typesetting of their publications; They began to produce an electronic version of newspapers: advertisements or important articles are recorded on floppy disks, which are then sold to those interested, which serves as an additional source of income for editorial offices.
Innovation is important not only technologically, but also organizationally, in content, and in design. The Kaleidoscope publishing house publishes all newspapers only in color; the publications of Nevsky Vremya have become more compelling. A search is underway for new forms of organizational work: in “Evening Petersburg” departments were abolished and positions of editors of newspaper pages were introduced, and the St. Petersburg “Smena” is made by five creative groups - each occupied with the number of a specific day of the week. Organizational innovation can proceed in other ways.
The creation of marketing departments in large editorial offices is also an example of innovation. When planning events related to the newspaper market, editorial marketers do not forget about communication policy in newspaper marketing - about advertising the newspaper itself. They strive to make the advertising message to the reader intelligible and convincing.
We examined the issues of marketing periodicals. But similar problems are inherent in the electronic press. Research into real audiences is even more active here than in newspapers. TV show ratings are regularly published in various publications. Large television centers have established reputable sociological services.
Journalism in the field of radio has two directions: information and music. Adhering to the first, Ekho Moskvy became the most politicized station: it is no coincidence that it was immediately closed and even arrested on the first day of the famous putsch - August 19, 1991. Some specialized stations are also purely informational, for example, the Moscow Avtoradio. Its program: to provide as quickly as possible all the information necessary for a person driving - the condition of the streets, the introduction of restrictions, crime, accidents on the roads, environmental problems of the city and region, the work of the service department, assistance, legal issues. The entire program is broadcast live, permeated with music and a wide variety of news.
For most radio stations, the main thing is to broadcast music and radio clips: the audience eventually gets tired of the rhythm and its deafening harshness. Oversaturation with rhythm can lead to a change in need. An abundance of the same type of information has the same effect, especially if it is transmitted thoughtlessly, in a joyful tone, even reporting about the death of people, disasters, explosions at enterprises.
A decline in the interest of radio listeners can be avoided if the content of the activities of new radio stations is enriched with problem-based, artistic broadcasting, an exchange of opinions is organized, and radio discussions are held. When the largest radio company, Radio 1, opened a radio theater festival called “Ramp at the Microphone” in September 1995, the station’s ratings quickly went up. Radio listeners were attracted by musical and dramatic theater performances and radio operas, which Radio 1 began broadcasting 6-7 times a week. “Echo of Moscow” is also conducting a creative search: it was one of the first to begin broadcasting series, making them together with the BBC under a joint activity agreement.
From a financial point of view, the following models of media functioning are observed in modern Russian journalism:
A) for invested authorized capital: state-owned, dependent on private capital, independent, joint (editorial - company or government structure), Russian-foreign;
b) by organizational structure: editorial board or directorate of a television and radio company, limited liability partnership (LLP), limited liability company (LLC), closed joint stock company (CJSC), joint stock company (JSC), holding company, publishing house, concern.
Without sufficient own funds and state subsidies, dissatisfied with advertising revenues, editorial offices turn to commercial structures for help, often becoming dependent on them. This process goes step by step:
a) searching for a sponsor who becomes a co-founder;
b) transformation of the media into an open joint-stock company;
c) purchase of shares of a joint-stock company, acquisition of a controlling stake by a large financial and political group.
The emerging trend towards the merger of financial and industrial groups leads to the concentration in private hands of a large number of large newspapers and electronic media, and the improvement of information technology also creates the preconditions for the integration of the media into a single system. All this can lead to the establishment of strict global control over sources and channels of information, and therefore over mass consciousness.
The economic burden of the media can be eased if the media enters into a single joint stock company with monopolists dictating high prices for paper, printing services, newspaper distribution, and for electronic media, signal distribution.
The tactics of the market behavior of the newspaper, the circulation and pricing policy of the editorial office are determined with the help of an effective tool - marketing.
